How Liverpool failed to beat Manchester United despite dominating possession

Liverpool came to Old Trafford with the opportunity to move above Man City if they gained at least one point against in-form Manchester United. Liverpool’s game plan against the big sides is to often look to draw, as one point is better than none.

And Liverpool did in fact just this. Undoubtedly this game could have been a much more exciting fixture in terms of goals, but the game wasn’t boring from a tactical perspective. It was like a game of chess; Solskjaervs Klopp, Scouse vs Manc.

Whilst Klopp’s men dominated possession, this didn’t equate to superior chances. United finished with an xG of 0.72, massively higher than Liverpool’s measly xG of 0.09. To put both statistics to into perspective, Premier League strugglers Cardiff’s xG in a 4-1 loss to Chelsea was 0.78.

So whilst this game wasn’t full of goals, or much real entertainment, there were some significant events to discuss in this tactical analysis.

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